Today, the discovery of electronic content, such as online video content, presents challenges and opportunities not present within traditional broadcast television or cable television environments. For example, in a traditional broadcast television environment, a program may only be available at a particular time and on a particular channel. In contrast, electronic content is generally not distributed by a single channel or website within a network environment, such as the Internet. Instead, the electronic content, e.g., a video clip or movie, may be distributed through as many websites and other outlets as possible in order to maximize the number of viewers exposed to the electronic content. Furthermore, popular or premium electronic content is often reproduced (both legally or illegally) and widely distributed across many websites and portals, particularly as the demand or interest for the content increases with more and more viewers.
As a result, a large amount of duplicative videos and other electronic content is available across the Internet. The wide availability of duplicative electronic content, including duplicative segments of video cups, may render it difficult for a user to readily identify content of interest based on, for example, characteristics of the content, preferences of the user, and/or preference of the user's friends in a social networking environment.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved systems and methods for efficiently discovering and identifying desired electronic content in a network environment, such as the Internet. Moreover, there is a need for improved systems and methods for identifying electronic content, including video content, that is dispersed across multiple websites. There is also a need for such systems and methods that can be implemented in a computer-based environment.